At The End Of Our Broken Road
by Beware of the Nargles
Summary: Gale goes out hunting in the forest to angrily contemplate everything.  Some jealousy, frustration, lots of angst, a bit of violence and mild swearing. Gale's PoV, a one-shot songfic  Broken Road by 12 Stones . Reviews are love!


**At The End Of Our Broken Road **

Hey there, I'm BewareoftheNargles and I'm a huge fan of the Hunger Games, and though I've dived into HG fanfiction as a reader, it's the first time I've ventured in as a writer. Strangely enough, I'm definitely a Peeta fan, but the person I had the urge to write about was none other than Mr. Gale _'tall, dark, handsome'_ Hawthorne. Gale _freakin'_ Hawthorne.

All because I listened to this song and inspiration crashed into me like a runaway train. And it breathed the life of this one-shot into my head. (Let me know in a review if you happen to know the other song I seem to be para-phrasing in this random A/N :P)

Anyway, the song is **Broken Road,** by 12 Stones.

I hope you like the one-shot...and if it's well-received, I might just have to write Hunger Games stuff more often.

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_**Time moves slowly while you're gone  
I haven't heard your voice in quite some time**_

Gale set out, past the electric fence, leaving the confines of District Twelve in favour of the peace of the forest. He'd been working in the mines all week, but every day dragged on, and Gale was kicking and screaming against the tide; all he wanted was everything to go back to how it had been just a short while ago, _before_ all this shit. He wouldn't be trudging through the forest alone, a bow and arrow slung over his shoulder but with no one to back him up.

He resigned himself to checking the traps.

_**But I still see your face  
I cannot erase the things you've done**_

The problem with the forest is that it was riddled with memories, the simplest things. But seeing even so much as her face in the empty space at his shoulder brought back too much. He would be fine, Gale thought angrily, if he could pretend Catnip was there and would be coming back to him exactly how she'd been. But with the memories of Catnip, the more recent images of a District Twelve tribute came flooding in: who was she? Not just Katniss, but the famous Girl on Fire…

_**And all the ways you kept me hangin' on**_

… The Star-Crossed Lovers, the commentators and Capitol viewers are calling them now. Gale's fists clenched at the very mention, and he always attempted to force himself to ignore what he was watching on screen when his family and Katniss' were looking on, pity and sympathy pouring out of their eyes. He couldn't stand it. At first, he'd thought all it was, was acting for that damn camera that seemed always trained on Katniss and _him. _But she didn't _have_ to act like that – he would bet on it that she could win so much faster and more easily if she wasn't letting baker boy tag along. Even so, just because he was freaking _in love with her_ didn't mean she had to return the feelings… well, not in the arena, because the kissing and shit wasn't getting them anywhere, but taking them a dangerous step closer to giving up on the Games and just starting up a home and family in that cave.

_**Now you're gone, I've moved on  
And I don't feel so sorry**_

He stepped lightly over the roots, mud, grass and brambles covering the forest floor, wishing he could just stamp over them and destroy something to release some of the frustration that seemed to constantly consume him these days. That would scare all the game away, obviously, and Gale was too practical to ruin a day's hunt, so he just reached for an arrow, placed it in the bow's grasp, and stood silently, a hunter alert and listening for its prey. He shot the squirrel in the eye and watched blankly as it keeled off the side of the tree it had been scampering up, instead crashing limply to the forest floor.

_**Can't you see I'm bleeding  
But I won't bleed anymore**_

He knew he was the lucky one out of the two of them, his siblings hadn't been reaped; her sister had. She'd volunteered, exactly how he knew in his heart she would. He could have volunteered alongside her, he often ruminated, but always shot that idea down because then no one would be there to provide for both the Everdeens and the Hawthornes. And while they could protect each other perfectly, in the end one of them would have to die, and Gale had always been sure that either death would destroy them both.

But she was with _him_. Gale, at this point, honestly wouldn't care if he died, though he regretted thinking such malicious thoughts when he passed by to grudgingly sell a rabbit or two to the baker, _his_ father. He couldn't look in anyone's eyes anymore.

_**I've held on for so long  
But I had to let you go**_

A rustling up ahead distracted him momentarily, but the rush of fury, resentment and jealousy just surfaced again too soon. The deer didn't have a chance – the fierce, dark glint in the hunter's eyes sent a rippling of danger across the clearing with a single gaze. Suddenly, passion beat out practicality. The knife whirled straight through the air with purpose and resistance. It nicked the deer's skin untidily and dug its way into the creature's side. A dark stain was already welling up around the blade and surging further; the blood gushed over the doe's beautiful skin, tarnishing the fur and causing agony and pain. Gale saw the whites of the deer's terrified rolling eyes and was reminded of the Hunger Games. He suddenly realized what the Games were asking young, innocent children to do…and not to deer, but to each other. It was something he'd never wish upon anyone, and at that moment all his anger ebbed away. He stepped towards the doe, intending to kill it just to stop its suffering. But the life had already vanished from the creature's eyes.

_**I know, it hurts to hear the truth  
Well maybe I was never meant to be with you  
And I cannot replace the tears of disgrace  
That run for you  
'Cause running from the truth is what you do**_

Katniss was just trying to survive, trying to avoid killing anyone, especially a… friend. It didn't matter what_ he_ was to her or what they were doing. If, even if- they were truly in, in- _love_, a breath left Gale's lips slowly, his shoulders sagging helplessly, and it wasn't just for the cameras and audience… if that would help Katniss get out alive, then he understood he shouldn't resent it.

_**Now you're gone, I've moved on  
And I don't feel so sorry  
Can't you see I'm bleeding  
But I won't bleed anymore**_

Because after all, he'd rather see her back in District 12 a changed person, in love with someone else, but alive and well… than see her frail, destroyed body crumpled in a coffin, having died alone and broken. He couldn't seem to live without her; it was heart-wrenching enough temporarily, but when Gale imagined that this hopelessness and misery could last forever… he just decided District 12, her mother and sister, would have her back in any state at any cost, even if it meant Gale himself giving her up.

_**I've held on for so long  
But I had to let you go**_

At a sudden shot of sound, he turned and noticed a rabbit, its foot caught in one of his traps, which had snapped around the leg ruthlessly. It had happened at just that second, and it wasn't yet too late. Gale let out a brief sigh and crouched down, holding the rabbit firmly still to release the back paw. The rabbit, seemingly overjoyed at its merciful escape, fought against the limp it now carried, and bounded away without a moment's hesitation. And Gale was left feeling empty.

_**At the end of our broken road**_

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I hope you enjoyed this - or if it was perhaps too strange or depressing, I hope you appreciated me writing this and at least that it made you feel something.

Anyway, whether it did or not, let me know by being an awesome site-citizen person by REVIEWING! xD Yay!

Also, if you ever feel in the mood to chat about random HG (of Harry Potter) things, just send me a message and I'll guarantee to talk your ear off. Like, what do you think about Jennifer Lawrence being cast as Katniss? :)


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